Chapter 1
SOCIOLOGY: PERSPECTIVE AND
THEORY
1
Sociology: Perspective and Theory
Learning Objectives
2
“Sociology shows us the
power of society to guide
all our life decisions in
much the same way that
the seasons influence our
choice of clothing.”
3
The Sociological Perspective:
What Is…?
LO 1.1: Explain how the
sociological perspective
differs from common sense.
4
The Sociological Perspective
5
How does the power of society guide marriage
partner selection?
Stay tuned!
We will revisit this topic at the
end of the chapter.
6
How does the power of society influence private
decisions throughout the world?
Is childbearing simply a matter of personal choice?
7
The Sociological Perspective: Durkheim's Study
of Suicide
8
The Sociological Perspective: Contemporary
Suicide Statistics
A century later Durkheim's
analysis hold true.
Suicide rates are higher for
white people than they are for
black people and Hispanic
people.
Within each category, suicide
rates are higher for men than
for women.
Rates indicate the number of
deaths by suicide for every
100,000 people in each
category for 2010.
9
What situations help people see clearly how society
shapes individual lives?
Seeing
sociologically
• Marginality; living on the edge
• Social crisis; turning personal
problems into public issues
10
What is the sociological imagination?
• Society, not people,
is main cause of
poverty and other
social problems.
C. Wright Mills
• By turning personal
problems into public
issues, the
sociological
imagination is the key
to bringing people
together to create
needed change.
11
The Importance of a Global Perspective: What
Is…?
LO 1.2: State several reasons
that a global perspective is
important in today’s world.
12
In what way can nations be categorized by their
level of economic development?
Country categories
Low-income
• Nations with a low standard of living in which most people are poor
• Forty-nine nations include most of Africa and part of Asia
Middle-income
• Nations with a standard of living about average for the world as a whole
• Seventy-two nations include many of the countries of Eastern Europe, some of
Africa, and almost all of Latin America and Asia
High-income
• Nations with the highest overall standards of living
• Seventy-four countries include the U.S. and Canada, Argentina, the nations of
Western Europe, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Japan, and Australia
13
Why is it important to study comparisons
between the U.S. and other nations?
14
Importance of a Global Perspective
“In sum, in an increasingly interconnected world,
weWhat
can understand
our way
of life of
and
ourselves
then are the
benefits
applying
only to the
that we understand
others and
theextent
sociological
perspective?
the societies in which they live.”
15
Applying the Sociological Perspective
• Sociology guides many of our
life-shaping laws and policies.
Usefulness
of applying
the
sociological
perspective
• Using a sociological
perspective leads to
important personal growth
and awareness.
• Studying sociology aids in the
preparation for the world of
work.
LO 1.3: Identify the advantages of sociological thinking
for developing public policy, for encouraging personal
growth, and for advancing in a career.
16
Applying the Sociological Perspective: Sociology
and Public Policy
17
Applying the Sociological Perspective: Sociology
and Personal Growth
The sociological perspective
• Helps us assess truth of common sense
• Helps us see opportunities and constraints
• Empowers us to be active participants in
society
• Helps us live in a diverse world
18
Applying the Sociological Perspective: Careers
The “sociological advantage”
Sociology is excellent preparation for
jobs in dozens of diverse fields
(American Sociological Association,
2002, 2011a, 2011b).
19
Origins of Sociology
What are
the
origins?
• The birth of
sociology was itself
the result of
powerful social
forces.
• Let's take a closer
look at some of
these forces.
LO 1.4: Link the origins of sociology to historical
social changes.
20
What kinds of social change were especially
important in the development of sociology?
21
Social Change and Sociology: A New Industrial
Economy
Middle Ages:
• Farming and small-scale
manufacturing
End of Eighteenth Century
• New energy sources
• Large, anonymous work forces
• Large scale production; movement
of system of production
• Weakening of community influence
22
Social Change and Sociology: Growth of Cities
Urban migrant
problems:
Pollution,
crimes, and
homelessness
Enclosure
movement:
Reduction in
tenet access
and movement
to city
23
Social Change and Sociology: Political Change
Middle Ages:
Society is an
expression of
God's will
Shift to selfinterest: Personal
liberty and
individual rights
Gradual attack of
tradition: Thomas
Hobbes (1588–
1679), John Locke
(1632–1704), and
Adam Smith
(1723–1790)
French
Revolution:
Greater break with
politics and social
tradition:
Tocqueville
(1805–1859)
24
Social Change and Sociology: A New Awareness
of Society
What changes combined to make people
more aware of their surroundings?
• Huge factories
• Exploding cities
• New spirit of individualism
Do you know why?
The new discipline of sociology was born in England,
France, and Germany.
25
Science and Sociology
Ancient civilizations
• Thought about nature of society
• K'ung Fu-tzu, Confucius, Plato,
Aristotle
Medieval period
• Imagined ideal study society
• Marcus Aurelius, Aquinas,
Pisan, Shakespeare
26
Science and Sociology: A New View
• Coined term “sociology” in 1838
Comte
• Saw sociology as product of a
three-stage historical
development
• Theoretical stage (Church in
the Middle Age
• Metaphysical stage
(Enlightenment and the ideas
of Hobbes, Locke and
Rousseau)
• Scientific stage (Modern
physics, chemistry, sociology,
and the work of Copernicus,
Galileo and Newton)
27
Science and Sociology: A Closer Look at Comte
• Used scientific approach to the
study of society in positivism
Comte
(continued)
• Believed that society operates
according to its own laws,
much as the physical world
operates according to gravity
and other laws of nature
• Disputed by modern
sociologists who posit a more
complex view of human
behavior, including that related
to social injustice
28
Sociological Theory: What Is…?
LO 1.5: Summarize
sociology’s major theoretical
approaches.
29
The basics
Structural-Functional Approach
Macro-level orientation is concerned
with broad patterns that shape
society as a whole.
Society is viewed as a complex
system; parts work together to
promote solidarity and stability.
30
Key elements
Structural-Functional Approach
Social structure: Any
relatively stable patterns
of social behavior found
in social institutions
Manifest functions:
Recognized and intended
consequences of any
social pattern
Social function:
Consequences for the
operation of society as a
whole
Latent functions:
Unrecognized and
unintended
consequences of any
social pattern
31
Who's Who in the Structural-Functional
Approach
Auguste
Comte
Emile
Durkheim
Herbert
Spencer
• Importance of social integration
during times of rapid change
• Helped establish sociology as a
discipline
• Compared society to the human
body
32
Who's Who in the Structural-Functional
Approach
• Manifest functions are
recognized and intended
consequences
Robert K.
Merton
• Latent functions are
unrecognized and
unintended consequences
• Social dysfunctions are
undesirable
consequences
33
Evaluation of the Structural-Functional
Approach
34
Social Conflict Approach: What Is…?
35
Social Conflict Approach: What Is…?
36
Social-Conflict Approach
The basics
• Factors such as race, sex,
class, and age are linked to
social inequality
The social-conflict
• Dominant
group vs. approach points out patterns
of inequality
in everyday
life. The TV series
disadvantaged
group
relations
Keeping Up with the Kardashians takes a closeup look at the lives of extremely affluent women.
In what ways do they depend on the work of
people of lower social position?
37
Key elements
Social-Conflict Approach
Rejects the idea that social structure
promotes the operation of society as a whole
Suggests society is structured in ways to
benefit a few at the expense of the majority
38
Social-Conflict Approach
39
Who's Who in the Social-Conflict Approach
Karl
Marx
W.E.B.
Du Bois
• Focus on importance of
social class in inequality
and social conflict
• Focus on race as the major
problem facing the U.S. in the
20th century
40
The basics
Gender-Conflict Approach and Feminism
Gender-conflict theory: Focuses on
inequality and conflict between
women and men
Feminism: Advocacy of social
equality for women and men linked
to gender-conflict theory
41
Who's Who In Feminism and the GenderConflict Approach
• First woman sociologist
• Translated Comte's work
from French to English
Harriet
Martineau
• Documented the evils of
slavery, argued for laws
to protect factory
workers, and fought for
changes in education
policy for women
42
Who's Who In Feminism and the GenderConflict Approach
Jane Addams
We can use the sociological perspective to look at
Dealt
with
sociology
itself.
All
of
the
most
widely recognized
Was a
issues
pioneers of the discipline
were men. This is because
sociological
Wonof Nobel
in the nineteenth century,
it
was
all
but
unheard
involving
pioneer
whoto be college professors, and fewPeace
for women
women Prize
immigration
took a central role in public life.
helped found
(1931)
Hull House
and the pursuit
of peace
43
The basics
The Race-Conflict Approach
Focus on inequality and conflict
between people of different
racial and ethnic categories
44
The basics
The Race-Conflict Approach
Focuses on inequality and
conflict between people of
different racial and ethnic
categories
Suggests racial conflict is still
an issue in U.S.
45
Who's Who in the Race-Conflict Approach
Ida Wells
Barnett
• Born to slave parents
but rose to become a
teacher and then a
journalist and
newspaper publisher
• Campaigned for
racial equality
throughout her life
46
Who's Who in the Race-Conflict Approach
• Earned the first doctorate
awarded by Harvard to a
person of color
W.E.B.
Du Bois
• Founded the Atlanta
Sociological Laboratory
• Believed that sociologists
should not simply learn
about society's problems
but also try to solve them
47
Social-Conflict Theories
48
Symbolic-Interaction Approach
The basics
Presents a micro-level orientation
Offers a close-up focus on social
interactions in specific situations
Views society as the product of
everyday interactions of individuals
49
Key elements
Symbolic-Interaction Approach
Society is a shared reality that
people construct as they interact
with one another.
Society is a complex, everchanging mosaic of subjective
meanings.
50
Who's Who in the Symbolic-Interaction
Approach
Max Weber
George
Herbert
Mead
• Understanding a setting
from the people in it
• How we build personalities from
social experience
51
Who's Who in the Symbolic-Interaction
Approach
Erving
Goffman
George
Homans
and Peter
Blau
• Dramaturgical
analysis
• Social-exchange
analysis
52
Overall Evaluation
53
Applying the Approaches: The Sociology of
Sports
LO 1.6: Apply sociology’s major theoretical approaches to the
topic of sports.
54
The Sociology of Sports
A structuralfunctional
approach directs
our attention to
ways sports help
society operate.
Sports have
functional and
dysfunctional
consequences.
Functions
of Sports
55
The Sociology of Sports
Social-conflict analysis points
out games people play reflect
their social standing.
Sports
and
conflict
Sports in the United States
are bound up with
inequalities.
Sports have been oriented
mostly toward males.
56
Do the Math!
Why is there a
high number of
African Americans
in some
professional
sports?
Athletic performance in
some sports can be
precisely measured and is
not influenced by racial
prejudice.
57
Is race is linked to stacking of the positions
athletes play on the field in baseball?
What do you see?
58
Sports as Interaction
Symbolic-interaction
approach
• Posits sports are less a
system than an ongoing
process
Structural-functional,
social-conflict, and
symbolic-interaction
• Provide different
insights into sports
• No one is more correct
than the others
59
Is sociology nothing more than a
stereotype?
No!
• Generalizations
are not applied to
A sociology
everyone
in a category.
classroom
is a good
• Generalizations
square
with the
place to get
at the
available
facts.
truth behind common
• Generalizations
are offered fairstereotypes.
mindedly, with an interest in getting
at the truth.
60
Back to Marriage Partner Selection
True or False?
• All societies enforce various
rules that state who should or
should not marry whom.
61